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Prodi survives vote

ROME: Italian Premier Romano Prodi's Government survived a confidence vote, but with Communists in his coalition already announcing they won't back him on Afghanistan, he faced the prospect of having to depend on Silvio Berlusconi's conservative Opposition bloc to keep Italy's troops in the NATO mission. After squeaking by in the Senate confidence vote on Wednesday night, Mr. Prodi's centre-left coalition must submit to a separate confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies, where lawmakers began debate on Thursday morning. But with a comfortable majority in the lower Chamber, Mr. Prodi is certain to win the confidence vote there, scheduled for Friday. An opinion poll done for Milan daily Corriere della Sera found many Italians believing that Mr. Prodi's fractious coalition, which took office in May, will only last several more months. — AP

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